Block off-bearing apparatus



Dec. 7, 1954 R. b. MILEWSKI BLOCK OFF-BEARING APPARATUS Filed M 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 /n ve n for g/chara D. Mi/ewsk/ A for/ re Dec. 7, 1954 R. MILEWSKIY 2,696,310

BLOCK OFF-BEARING APPARATUS Filed May 10, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i'qi 5g 4. 5L5.

/n venfor Rlc/io'ra D. Mi/ewii Afforney D 1954 R. D. MILEWSKI BLOCK OFF-BEARING APPARATUS s Sheets-Sheet s Filed May 10, 1951 I nven Tor RICI'ICHI'CI D. Mi/ewski BLOCK OFF-BEARING APPARATUS Richard D. Milewski, Holland, Mich., assignor to Lithl-Bar Company, Hoiiantl, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application May 10, 1951, Serial No. 225,503

2'Claims. (Cl. 212135) This invention relates to a block off-bearing apparatus, and is concerned with desirable .and advantageous improvements in apparatus of the character noted. Such apparatus is used at the front of high production, concrete block machines for removing the blocks in their uncured state as they leave the block making machine, and transferring them to racks which in turn are transported to the curing room where the blocks are subjected to water vapor which penetrates the blocks and, in about .24 hours, cures the blocks which are then set and hardened.

Blocks made on automatic or semi-automatic concrete block making machines are ejected from the machines either one, two or three at .a time, carried on pallets, after the concrete has been shaped and molded and condensed usually by vibration of the mold and the concrete mix in it, tamping or by pressure. .And after such packing or condensing of the concrete the blocks are withdrawn from the mold, usually in a downward direction. A block, or a number of blocks, made in each cycle of the block making .machine rest upon the upper side of a pallet, which is a flat plate of metal, the pallet and the :block or blocks thereon, being ejected to the front .of the machine. From such position they are removed by the block off-bearing apparatus, the pallet, with either .a block or .more than one block thereon, being lifted and .moved and swung around for delivery to horizontal supporting shelves of a rack which is sufficiently large that it carries a large number of pallets and the blocks on such pallets.

The supporting shelves for the blocks are .at varying heights from adjacent the lower side of the rack to the uppermost shelf which may be as high or higher than a .mans head. The guidance of such blocks into the shelves has heretofore required the operator to bend over when filling lower shelves, such bending being to different degrees in accordance with the height of the shelves. And if a block or blocks should disintegrate more or less, either in loading onto or after placing on the rack, there is no way to remove it except manually if it should be at one shelf and blocks were both above and below it on other shelves.

It is an object and purpose of the present invention to provide a block ofi-bear-ing apparatus in the use of which the operator may remain erect at all times, and can fill any selected shelf with the blocks upon pallets, remove a pallet 'with blocks from any shelf if it is desirable because a block on such pallet is imperfect for any reason, .and replace such removed blocks and pallet with others irrespective of the extent to which the rack is .loaded.

Many novel improvements and arrangements and combinations of parts are provided for effectively attain- .ing a better removal and placing of the blocks from the .block making machine on racks, and for saving the operator from the fatigue to which he has been subjected with former apparatus.

A furtherobject of the invention is to provide a novel and very effective structure which is readily and economically produced, and which works especially satisfactorily with little or no liability of getting out of order.

An understanding of the invention may be had from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation illustrative of the block offbearing apparatus made in accordance with my invention, with some parts broken away for a better disclosure.

United States Patent Fig. 2 is a front elevation thereof, the upper track which carries it being shown in vertical cross section on the plane of line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section and plan substantially on the plane of line 33 of Fig. 2 looking downwardly.

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section substantially on the plane of line 4-4 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 is a side elevation, at reduced scale, showing the environment in which my invention is used and how it is associated with a concrete block producing machine and block rack, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical section through the outer end of the upper suspended beam of the block off-bearing apparatus showing the driving connection between the actuating motor and the chain which is driven thereby.

Like reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures of the drawings.

In Fig. 5 a diagrammatic showing of the environment and place of use of the present invention is shown. A concrete block forming machine 1, into which concrete is delivered from a hopper 2 to the mechanism of the machine is shown; and the blocks, which may be either one, two or three in number, indicated at 3, resting upon a lower pallet 4 are, after they are formed, ejected or pushed out of the machine to the front to rest upon a supporting platform 5. The pallet with the blocks 3 thereon is taken from the supporting platform 5 and delivered to a rack 6 which has a spaced number of horizontal shelves 7 upon which the pallets with the blocks above them are placed. After the rack is filled, it is lifted and carried by a lifting and transporting truck, being moved to the curing room where the blocks are left for at least 24 hours for curing, setting and hardening.

The present invention is concerned with a novel and better mechanism used with such concrete block machine for getting the pallets, with the blocks thereon from the platform 5 in front of the machine to the rack shelves.

At the upper front part of the machine a vertical post 8 is permanently secured to and extending upwardly from the frame. A surrounding vertical sleeve 9 is mounted thereon so that it may be turned about the vertical axis of the post. Near the lower end of the sleeve a horizontal track 10 is secured at one end of the track, and is adjustably supported by rods 11, connected by a turn buckle. Suitable clamps, indicated at 12 are used to attach one end .of the track 10 and one end of the rod 11 to the sleeve 8. The track 10 will preferably be maintained as nearly horizontal as possible by adjustment of the divided rod 11.

The track 10, preferably is of inverted channel form, as shown in Fig. 2, having inwardly extending terminal flange portions extending toward each other. It has within it a carriage 13 mounted on wheels or rollers for movement lengthwise of the track. A vertical rod 14 terminating at its lower end in a ring, as shown, has a swivel connection at its upper end to the carriage 13. The rod 14 and parts suspended therefrom may be turned freely about a vertical axis.

Below the track 10 the immediate block removing apparatus is suspended. It includes an upper horizontal beam having spaced sides 15, at .the lower edge portions of which a horizontal web is located and secured, either integrally or by welding, the beam being of generally channel form in cross section. The free end portion, of this beam is adapted to be weighted by concrete 17 or other suitable material for balancing the block removing apparatus to hold the beam substantially horizontal said block removing apparatus will not unduly tilt. The beam is suspended by spaced vertical bars 18 .one welded at its lower portion to each of the sides 15, and extending above said sides, having a horizontal rod mounted on and located between the upper end portions thereof, the rod passes through the ring at the lower end of the swivelly mounted member -14.

From the unweighted end of the beam a vertical post 19 extends downwardly, having a permanent welded connection to the beam at its upper end. The post of a hollow metal structural form (Fig. 3), has a vertically movable carriage thereon which comprises, .a pair of spaced upwardly extending plates 20, and a pair of spaced similar downwardly extending plates welded or otherwise permanently connected with a horizontal fork plate 21, which is located underneath the beam 15 and extends away from the post 9. It is formed with two spaced apart forks 21a (Fig. 3). Rollers 22 are carried on and between the upper ends of the upper plates 20, and between the lower ends of the lower plates 20, riding against opposite sides of the post 19 as shown, and the upper rollers 22, for example, may be adjustable on the plates which support it toward or away from the post 19.

A hook and eye structure indicated at 23, the eye preferably permanently secured to the fork plate 21, and the hook to one end of a chain 24, connects the fork, by means of the chain 24 which passes upwardly and over an idle wheel 25 therefore, to a rotary compressed air motor 26, mounted on a suitable support 27 at the free end of the beam 15, 16. The idle sprocket wheel 25 is at the opposite end of the beam. The chain passes between the bars 18 and through the compressed air motor 26 around a shaft having a sprocket Wheel 25a thereon. The rotation of the motor in one direction causes an upward pull upon the vertical section of the chain 24. The free end of the chain, as shown in Figs. 1 and 6, is received between the sides 15 of the beam over the weight or ballast 17. When the motor is turned in the opposite direction the vertical section 24 of the chain is released and the concrete carrying fork and the carriage therefor will move by gravity downward on the post 19.

The motor 26 is controlled by a lever 28 which, in Fig. 1, is shown at its neutral position. When in such position the motor is at rest. When the lever is moved in one direction the motor will wind the chain and lift the carrying fork 21, 21a and any blocks or pallets thereon. When moved in the opposite direction away from neutral position, the fork and its carriage and any blocks or pallets thereon will move downwardly. The motor shown is of old and well-known structure, not designed by applicant, but purchased for use with applicants invention, and is well-known to those skilled in the art.

The lever 28 is manually actuated. One end of a rod 29 is pivotally connected to the outer end of the lever 28, extending therefrom, at one side of the beam 15, 16, substantially to the upper end of the post 19, and has a pivotal connection with the upper end of a bent rod 30 which curves outwardly and thence downwardly and is permanently secured, at its lower end, to the upper end portion of an elongated vertical tube or sleeve 31 between the ends of which an outwardly extending handle 32 is connected. Sleeve 31 is mounted for turning movement upon one vertical side 33 of a frame which includes two spaced apart rods or tubes 33, integrally connected by a cross portion at their upper ends, and coni nected at their lower ends by a flat bar 34. The flat bar 34 is permanently secured to the lower end of the post 19, and the upper cross connecting portion of the frame is connected to the web 16 or frame immediately adjacent the upper end of the post 19. The vertical sides 33 of the frame are located symmetrically with respect to the post 19.

Such structure, in the position shown in Fig. 5, has the block and pallet removing fork 21 extended toward the platform 5. Such platform, in concrete block machines, has open spaces for the sides 21 of the fork to pass underneath the pallet 4, the entire block removing structure being readily moved on the track 10. The operator grasps the handle 32 with one hand and the vertical side 33 of the described frame with the other hand so as to manually move the removing fork from the position in Fig. 5 to underneath the pallet 4.

By moving the handle 32 so as to turn the sleeve 31 about its longitudinal axis, rod 29 is moved longitudinally in one direction or the other, depending upon the direction that the sleeve 31 is turned. The operation of the motor 26 is one in which there is progressively increasing speed of the motor rotor from its no-speed neutral position of the lever 28, to maximum speed when the lever is at its farthest distances away from the neutral position in either direction. Thus the operator may, by a slight twist of the handle 32 to turn sleeve 31 in one direction, lift the pallet 4 and the blocks 3 above it from the supporting platform 5 and then turn the block lifting apparatus through 180 about the pivotal axis of the swivelly connected rod 14 to present the blocks to the rack 6, and also move the block removing apparatus upon the track 10 so that the pallet and blocks are outside of the rack. By further operating the handle 32 the carriage and fork 21 may be raised or lowered to a desired position above a selected shelf 7, below the shelf next above the selected shelf, and then move the entire block removing apparatus on the track 10 to carry the sides 21a of the pallet carrying fork, the pallet and the blocks thereon into the rack above the selected shelf to proper position, thereafter lowering the pallet until it rests upon the shelf, and withdrawing the fork from underneath the pallet.

The operator stays in an upright position with one hand on the handle 32 and the other hand directly opposite on the opposite rod 3. He has complete command of the movements of the apparatus on the track 10, and of the vertical movements of the blocks and pallets when in such upright position. The handling of the blocks, which are of a fragile character when they come from the block machine, is within the control of the operator and may be as careful or delicate as necessary to safeguard the pallet or the blocks thereon from any jar or other shock. The control of the speed of the motor 26 from rest, progressively to the maximum speed attainable, permits lifting and lowering the blocks at the beginning and at the end of the cycle of removal from the platform 5 to depositing the blocks and pallets carrying them on a selected shelf of the rack, at very slow motion or speed, with greater rapidity of operation of the motor in between.

With my invention also, after the shelves are loaded or wholly or partly loaded, a pallet 4 with the blocks thereon which have been delivered to the rack may be readily removed. Such removal at times is desirable if a block or blocks on a pallet should become broken or otherwise disrupted, the concrete thereof being returned to the hopper 2 for reprocessing. This is very quickly and easily done, without the operator being required to leave his upright position.

The apparatus described is very practical and useful, and is in commercial use. The operator is not fatigued at the end of the days work as before, and racks do not need to have unsatisfactory blocks and their pallets manually removed from the racks as is now substantially universally required.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a structure as described, a carriage adapted to run upon a horizontal track, a horizontal beam suspended between its ends from said carriage for movement about vertical and horizontal axes, a vertical post secured at its upper end adjacent one end of the beam, extending downwardly therefrom, a rotary motor mounted on said beam adjacent its opposite end, a second carriage mounted on the post for up and down movements thereon, a horizontal plate connected at one end with the second carriage, through which said post passes, said plate being located underneath said beam, a flexible chain connected to said plate at the end thereof nearest the post and extending upwardly and around the end of the beam at which the post is connected and thence to said rotary motor, said chain having operative connection to said motor for winding to raise said horizontal plate or unwinding to lower it, a control lever on said motor, operation of which controls the motor in rotation in opposite directions from an intermediate static position of the motor, a frame connected wtih said beam and post including two vertical spaced frame members, one at each side of the post, a handle rotatably mounted on one of said frame members to turn about a vertical axis, and connections between said handle and the motor control lever for shifting said lever from motor static position in either direction therefrom, in one direction rotating the motor to wind said flexible chain thereon and the other to release said chain for unwinding.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, said vertical member of the frame on which the handle is mounted having an elongated sleeve thereon to which the handle is connected, said sleeve being turnable about the axis of said vertical member of the frame, and said connections between the handle and said motor lever comprising 5 6 a rod secured at one end to the motor control lever Number Name Date and a vertical member secured to the upper end of said 1,516,622 Shook Nov. 25, 1924 sleeve at one end, extending to and having a pivotal 1,799,209 Bennington Apr. 7, 1931 connection with the opposite end of said rod. 2,397,271 Ladwig Mar. 26, 1946 6 2,419,813 Berchtold Apr. 29, 1947 References Cited in the file of this patent 2,535,961 Schutt Dec. 26, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENTS 215531378 Mlllel' M y 1951 Number Name Date 615,924 Thomlinson Dec. 13, 1898 10 1,509,687 Murphy Sept. 23, 1924 

